Focus on saving energy

Some of the people who attended the first quarterly education seminar.

Sean Boyce, managing director of Climate Control Limited. (Pictures by Lennox Devonish.)

By Marlon Madden | Sun, May 06, 2012 - 12:00 AM

As business operators and residents continue struggling to keep their energy costs down, one company said it was on a mission to help them save big-time.

Noting that Barbados was not oil-rich like Trinidad and Tobago, Climate Control Limited (CCL) managing director Sean Boyce said it was very important that households and companies were outfitted with energy-saving equipment so as to mitigate high electricity costs.

CCL is a Trinidad-based air-conditioning (AC) and ventilation company with an operation in Barbados. Boyce said they were constantly searching for new ways to help people save on energy through innovation and seminars.

He was speaking to BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY during the first of a series of education seminars at The Mews Restaurant and Bar, Holetown, St James, last Wednesday.

“ACs are going in a different direction,” where the focus is on energy savings.

“And what we are presenting here today together with LG Electronics is the inverter-type technology air conditioners. These units will give you savings anywhere from 30 to 60 per cent.

“And what is important for people to understand is that air conditioning is 50 per cent of your light bill – so in cases where you have businesses running ACs 24/7, we can save you 50 per cent on your light bills,” he said.

Boyce said they currently had about 15 per cent of the Barbados market and while there was a great level of appreciation for innovation among the population, there was not enough knowledge.

“I honestly do think that in terms of air conditioning, a lot of educating still needs to be done in Barbados, to say it nicely.

“Too many times people want an AC and somebody would just go and install what they have available without advising them correctly,” Boyce pointed out.

He said for that reason, they had embarked on a campaign to educate local technicians, individuals and companies about the energy-saving systems.

“So we are not only here to compete but we are also here to work with the local market and bring savings. The long and short of it is that everyone benefits,” said Boyce, and they would be bringing solar equipment into the market “shortly”.